Drivers' demand driving gas prices up

It's the end of summer, kids are going back to school, so why is the price of gasoline going up? Because we're buying it almost as fast as refineries can make it, says Son Redman of the American Automobile Association.

"This is due largely to the fact that we're just seeing some historic levels of demand," said Redman. "This is something we've been noting since the beginning of the year."

Redman says the growing economy has people driving, and companies shipping: "Demand for gasoline has set record highs, or highs that we haven't seen for more than a decade."

He warns that we might be in a precarious position -- refineries are maxed out as they try and keep up.

"Refineries are almost at full capacity trying to meet demand," said Redman. "Some areas of the country...particularly on the west coast, if they have any kind of slight disruption in their distribution system or their production system, they're in big trouble."

AAA predicts gasoline prices as high as $2.65 - $2.67 a gallon in our area by Labor Day.